Government gives high street fund pre-election boost

A further £325m has now been added to the original £675m set out at the last autumn Budget by the then Chancellor, Philip Hammond. The extra cash was made available yesterday by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Some 50 towns were shortlisted to receive cash from the fund earlier in the summer, but the shortlist has now been doubled – with the likes of Dover, Grimsby and Carlisle added.

Of the increased funding, the prime minister said: “Our high streets are right at the heart of our communities and I will do everything I can to make sure they remain vibrant places where people want to go, meet and spend their money.

“This scheme is going to re-energise and transform even more of our high streets – helping them to attract new businesses, boost local growth and create new infrastructure and jobs.”

With the UK set to leave the European Union on October 31, the media have reported that Boris Johnson is preparing the Conservative Party for an election – either the day after leaving the EU, or possibly on October 17, in a bid to win a surer mandate for negotiation with Brussels.

The fund was launched in December 2018 and was part of a wider plan under then prime minister Theresa May to regenerate town centres and high streets and help them to adjust as more retail moves online.

At the same Budget, some £900m worth of business rates relief for small businesses was also announced, but that has done little to alleviate the cost issues facing national retail chains.

In February of this year, an inquiry by MPs concluded that the original high street fund was not large enough to meet the challenge facing Britain’s high streets.